Outdoor pretend play and Indoor cooking

The girls were a little fussy this weekend due to cold symptoms and not getting a lot of nap time.  This led to me needing to be creative in keeping them busy with new activities to keep their minds off of not feeling well.  

We spent some time outside swinging, playing in the dirt and in the jeep.  We just ordered a replacement battery for it so unfortunately for me, I pushed the girls around the yard as we traveled from the "grocery store," "zoo," and other magical places.  Becca told me where to go as she drove Emily to all of our places.  It was fun.  I loved seeing her direct us and then use her imagination to see Elephants and turtles as well as buying milk at the grocery store.  Emily had a blast riding in the jeep and talking on the cell phone while Becca "drove."

Another fun activity we did was cooking in the kitchen.  Becca has really been excited about helping me "cook" whenever I am in the kitchen trying to prepare a meal (usually during dinner time).  While I'm excited about this, sometimes it is frustrating when I'm trying to get dinner on the table quickly.  She loves to pull ingredients out of the cabinets (especially the honey and sprinkles).  I want her to continue to be excited about cooking and have fun getting her hands dirty. She really doesn't like anything on her hands and we are working on this.  I found on one of the many mom blogs on Pinterest this idea and loved it.  I filled a muffin tin with different items that I didn't mind Becca playing with and ones that had different textures as well.  I gave her some muffin cups and away she went creating new exciting things for us to eat.  :)  She asked for some water and sugar.  We learned that sugar dissolves in water and we also learned that green sprinkles make green water.  She had a blast and played for over an hour creating her cupcakes.  Next time I will put down a plastic tablecloth on the floor though because water and sugar are very sticky and green sprinkles with sticky water aren't fun to clean up! :)

What a day

Today was quite the day.  I'm having a really hard time right now being a working mom.  It makes me feel even worse that there are women that can handle it just fine (or so it appears to be that way).  I don't understand why I can't handle working, being a mom, being a wife, etc.  I think the stress and burnout from my job at school as well as Joe's job is making it hard, not to mention the stress of trying to figure out why Emily gets sick and if she is allergic to anything.  I worry about her a lot....I have to keep reminding my self "Do not be anxious about anything, but with thanksgiving present your requests to the Lord..." I am grateful that her ENT, Pulmonolgist, and Allergist appointments are soon.  Hopefully we can figure out what is going on!

School was tough today, the kids are crazy, it was also a long day teaching band before school, only having a short 25 minute prep and then music club after school.  Then by the time the girls and I got home, Emmy was crabby and crying uncontrollably and nothing was working to calm her down.  Becca wanted to "cook" and was pulling honey, sprinkles, and whatever else she could find out of the cabinet and mixing it in a glass bowl all while I was trying to throw something together for dinner rather quickly before another meltdown from hunger occurred. This picture almost makes me laugh when I read what I have just written!

Then during bath time Emily was crying to get out while Becca decided to keep splashing her and then Becca melted down and started being her defiant three year old self that occasionally comes to visit.  It was quite the evening.  Finally though we got the jammies on and settled in the rocking chair with Emily's bottle and Becca's Bible.  Those are the moments that I treasure and what make the rough times seem not so bad.  Becca was discussing Adam and Eve and how Noah built the ark.  Then we rocked and cuddled a little before they went off to bed.

I don't expect life to be easy and I know through our struggles the Lord is teaching us and making us stronger, but some days I just want to break down and say "I give up."  Every morning though is a new start and I'm trying to be positive. Right now I would love to stay home with my girls.  I'm not saying that would be easier, but the stress of trying to be great at my job and a great mom and wife would be less.  Yes, other things would take the place of the job....such as the stress of finances.  I feel bad because sometimes I think in the evenings my girls get the leftovers and suffer from my exhaustion and lack of patience. I'm so thankful that they have Cheryl during the day to take care of them and love them.  I feel bad that I can't always do activities with them and do all of these fun things I see on other mommy blogs, but I know they are getting great experiences at Cheryl's house and that she loves each and every one of them! I'm also thankful for friends and family that love on my girls and play with them!

 I look at what some of my other friends are going through and my life seems easy compared to theirs.  However, we all struggle in our own way.  With all of the sickness we have had in our family this year (basically every month something was going on!) it has taken a toll.  I'm thankful that we seem to be on the mend and that God will give the doctor's wisdom to figure out what Emily needs.  I'm also learning to trust my motherly instinct more and am trying to do what I think is best for her as well.

I know this post is just so random and full of grammatical errors and unlike my posts before, but I just have had a rough day and needed to get some things out.  It feels good to write things down and let them go!

Only 26 days left of school and then summer...

Happy 1st Birthday Miss Emily!

I can't believe Emily turned one on April 4.  I no longer have a little baby girl. :(  She is still my cuddle bug though.  It has been a rough year, but through all of Emily's health struggles she has still kept that bright smile on her face.  She still doesn't always sleep through the night and when she is unhappy Emmy definitely lets you know about it! :) However when she is healthy she walks around smiling and laughing....sometimes sneaking up on her older sister to get her attention.  Becca however doesn't always like this attention and chooses to ignore her baby sister.

At times Becca will be the bossy older sister and tell Emily what to do and where to go.  I love seeing them play together and I love hearing Becca try to get Emily to say certain words.  They have fun during bath time....that is until Becca decides to pour water over Emily's head! :)

Emily has been an eater.  This is a refreshing change from Becca who is so picky!  So far Emmy has not really met a food that she doesn't like.  She didn't really care for baby food and still has a preference to feed herself whatever we are eating.  We laugh because if Becca or someone else is eating a snack, Emily is very insistant that she needs one to.  In fact, one evening Becca had a bowl of crackers that she set down on the couch.  Emily saw an opportunity and walked rather quickly to the couch and started chowing down on the crackers.  Joe and I just cracked up! Thankfully Becca did not notice or things could have gotten dicey! :) She loves black beans, almost any type of meat, fruit, and definitely likes sweet things.

I love watching Emily's face.  She is so curious about everything (this has been proven by the fact that she gets into EVERYTHING!!! I didn't really have to use baby locks on the cabinets with Becca, but with Emily I will).  She takes in everything and it is almost like you can see the wheels turning.  She wants to keep up with her sister, yet is very independent.  Emily crawled at 7 months and started walking at 11 months.  Now she likes to really move around the house.  I thought she would take longer than Becca to learn these milestones, but she has proven me wrong! Emily also loves music and bounces up and down whenever she hears it.  She loves banging on the drum and "plays" Just Dance with Becca and I. 

Emily is a strong yet tiny little girl.  She only weighed 17 pounds 10 ounces at her 1 year check-up and was 29 inches long.  Her cousin Chase has her beat in weight and height and is 3 months younger! :)

Emily had a great birthday party.  She ate her cupcake, enjoyed the wonderful company, didn't really care much for opening presents.  We are so blessed to have this little girl in our lives.  She is a precious gift from the Lord and I pray that God will guide us and help us to raise her.  Both of our girls are precious and we treasure every moment with them.  I love seeing their different personalities shine through (even when Becca's strong willed 3 year old moments come out....who said it was terrible twos??? I think the 3's are worse....anyway...)

I praise the Lord for getting us through the struggles of this year, but also praise Him for the many blessings that we have and for His continuous love, strength, and grace. 

Happy Birthday Emily Renee! We love you!!!

Emily's Bunny cupcake!

Emily's Bunny cupcakes!

the Birthday girl

Happy Birthday!

Yea!!

MMMM!!!

Yummo!

Opening gifts

Easter Egg hunt at Emmy's party!

Becca had to wear her hat.  She wouldn't go outside without it!

Mamaw and Emmy

Trying to eat the flowers!

Grandma, Grandpa T and our family

Cousins Tyler and Becca playing together!

Fun with cousins

Spring Break is finally here! Thank goodness.  Today Joe and I took the girls to the zoo and met up with Meg and cousins Ava, Tyler, and Chase.  We had a fun filled day and loved seeing all of the animals!

Tyler and Becca...they could really pass as twins!

Emily snuggled in her warm stroller

Saying goodbye!

Emily was so tired from the day she snuggled on the kitchen floor!

Becca's First Salon visit

Becca has had her hair, well really just her bangs trimmed before, but Saturday was her first trip to a salon.  I wasn't sure how she would react, but she did really well.  She sat still for the most part and said she looked like a princess.  She did move slightly when Rita was cutting her bangs, which made them a little shorter, but that is okay.  Once her hair grows a little more we can do more with it.  It helped the ends not to look so scraggly and her hair a little healthier.  She unfortunately has fine hair like me though.

Before

After

Becca's first Dentist visit

Becca went to the dentist for the first time last Monday.  Unfortunately she cried as soon as she was called back.  However, Julie was great and got her to sit in the chair.  Becca soon warmed up and started a conversation with Julie.  Julie showed her everything, counted her teeth, gave Becca some latex gloves and some stickers.  Overall it was a good trip.  Becca wouldn't let the dentist look in her mouth though.  I liked that they didn't pressure her.  They wanted her to have a positive experience so that she will want to come back.  The Dora toothbrush and the toothpaste were a hit as well!

In an instant....

These past couple of weeks have really taught me how life can change in an instant.  I have also learned that even when things seem bad, the Lord is always there taking care of us.  We are not necessarily promised tomorrow and how we live every moment of our life matters.  I truly want to live my life for Him and to be the best mom, wife, friend, worker that I can be for the Lord.  I find myself constantly failing though.  Even though I fail every day, the Lord is always there to listen and help pick me back up.

Our family has had many rough times within the two weeks yet the Lord is there comforting and guiding. My Grandma and Grandpa T (dad's parents) lost their house to a fire, but I am so thankful that the Lord woke them up and helped them get out of the house in time.  All by the barking of dogs.  They along with  my parents are constantly in my prayers.  It has to be hard losing everything.  But then that had me thinking that we really can't take anything with us when we go to heaven so we need to make sure we are investing in the right things/people.

We also lost Grandma B (mom's mom). She wanted to go home and be with the Lord and I can't blame her.  We will miss her but what a wonderful thing to be dancing with Jesus right now.  No more suffering, no more pain.  I was looking in my address book as I was addressing letters to go out and came across her name and address and felt sad that I couldn't send her letters or cards anymore.  We will see her again someday though!

Here are some pictures of what the fire did to grandpa and grandma's house.